“Quantum of Solace” References

I thought it was just me. Indeed everyone I confided this theory to has pooh pooh-ed it.

Then I looked up one of Peter Bradshaw’s (two, contradictory) reviews and found that he too had spotted references to other Bond films in Quantum of Solace. And, bar the obvious Goldfinger reference, they’re different ones.

Are there any others? Is it possible that every film was subtly referenced?

Spoiler

Dr No

At the end of the film, Bond is sitting in the dark with his gun out waiting for the Algerian, just as he waiting for Professor Dent at Taro’s house (also less obviously referenced at the start of Casino Royale). My spot!

Goldfinger

Fields is lying on the bed, covered in oil just as Jill Masterson was covered in gold paint. Me & Bradshaw.

Live and Let Die

The coffins in the pile up in Haiti. Bradshaw (seeing a reference to the voodoo in LaLD).

The Spy Who Loved Me

The skydive. Bradshaw.

The Living Daylights

Bond flies a DC-3 and ejects before it crashes, though not aboard a humvee as from the Hercules in TLD. My spot

Licence to Kill

In the hotel, when M tells Bond he’s on the capture or kill list he vaults over the balustrade, just has he vaulted the verandah as he handed in his resignation (“it’s a farewell to arms”). My spot.

Casino Royale

Doesn’t count – too obvious!

Dr No

At the end of the film, Bond is sitting in the dark with his gun out waiting for the Algerian, just as he waiting for Professor Dent at Taro’s house (also less obviously referenced at the start of Casino Royale). My spot!

Goldfinger

Fields is lying on the bed, covered in oil just as Jill Masterson was covered in gold paint. Me & Bradshaw.

Live and Let Die

The coffins in the pile up in Haiti. Bradshaw (seeing a reference to the voodoo in LaLD).

The Spy Who Loved Me

The skydive. Bradshaw.

The Living Daylights

Bond flies a DC-3 and ejects before it crashes, though not aboard a humvee as from the Hercules in TLD. My spot

Licence to Kill

In the hotel, when M tells Bond he’s on the capture or kill list he vaults over the balustrade, just has he vaulted the verandah as he handed in his resignation (“it’s a farewell to arms”). My spot.

Also, after killing the man on the roof, he has the woman at the airport desk tell MI6 that he is headed for Cairo, which is a major location in The Spy Who Loved Me as well as the location of the previously referenced killing.

I know this is late in the day to post the reply to this thread, but I found myself constantly seeing references very subtly woven into Quantum of Solace that reference previous Bond films:

Boat chase sequence in Port au Prince references the escape scene in From Russia with Love, and the Bayoux pursuit in Live and Let Die, as well as fitting in a dispute over driving and navigating the boat which seemed to echo the dispute between the Bond’s character and Mei Ling in Tomorrow Never Dies when they’re mounted on the BMW motorcycle.

The gold block interior of the villain’s lair in the Atacama desert for the finale appears to nod to the Fort Knox set in Goldfinger. The interior space where Green forces the General to sign his monopoly of public utilities appears to me similar to the design of the similar communal space in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but I could be mistaken.

The conversation with Mathis in Italy on the roof top and the interruptions from his mistress seem to echo Kerim Bey’s scene in From Russia with Love before his apartment is bombed.

As already mentioned the emergence from the desert and the plummet of the Special Branch officer after losing his grip on Bond’s tie appear to reference The Spy Who Loved Me, and Field’s body soaked in oil echos Jill Matheson’s character in Goldfinger. I hadn’t twigged the parachute sequence mimicking Moonraker, or the aircraft sequence similarity to You Only Live Twice, or the cello or the significance of the destination Bond gives.

I did wonder if the camp henchman assisting Green was possibly a reference to the two camp henchmen in Diamonds are Forever.

I think the body of the geologist under the water in one of the beginning scenes of the film possibly references an earlier film – could it be License to Kill?

The car that spills coffins onto the street in Port au Prince I’m sure is a reference to the occupation of I think the ancestors of one of the original creators of the films, either Saltzman or Broccoli, which was the reason behind the appearance of a coffin on a gondola on the canals of Venice in Moonraker.

Also just spotted the cameo of is it Michael Wilson the producer, by the lobby of the hotel in Port au Prince when Bond dispatches the chap in room 235 when he’s ambushed, and he checks on the off chance for mail/messages at the reception.

Could I be mistaken, but is the stalking of the general by the heroine at the end of Quantum of Solace referencing the scene from Bladerunner when Deckard is hunting Roy and is caught by him?

I’m sure there are many other moments in the film which I won’t be clever enough to spot, but having not found another conversation on the web that discusses this I felt I should download my thoughts here. I hope people will oblige me and not mind too much.

I have to say I thought Quantum of Solace was a great film in general, and certainly one of my favourites in the Bond canon. My measure is when my mind keeps returning to a particular moment or scene or line. The fact it so skilfully nodded its head to other Bond films whilst telling an original story I thought was really cool.

The length of the film I thought was much better as well than recent films. I thought the story line was well constructed and there were some brilliant novel touches like the Opera scenes, where he acquires the dinner jacket and the melding of the drama on stage with the first confrontation between Green and Bond. It’s a shame it’s been four years between films. I suppose it can’t be helped with the way the economy has affected film productions. It’s funny how four years goes faster for me now. I was 12 I think when License to Kill was released, and looking back it was only about 5 years before Brosnan appeared in Goldeneye, but I remember that span of time covered all my secondary school years, so it felt like an eternity had passed.

I had no idea I had so many words to write on this subject. If you’ve read this far, I feel honoured – thanks very much for your time.

Impressive observations, Ray. Also, you’re the first person I’ve come across who rates this one as a favourite! Thanks for your comments.

It’s a while since I saw the film, and it has faded from my memory almost completely. I can’t even remember many of the scenes you allude to. Rediscovering this thread has made me wonder about maybe re-watching it just for the fun of reference spotting!

I remember being underwhelmed by the film, but that’s just about all I do remember. Unlike Die Another Day I don’t think I actually made a vow never to see it again, so a re-evaluation may be in order.

The two piloting the cargo plane reminded me instantly of The Living Daylights, as well as a shot of an island in, I think, Italy. The staggering cliffs instantly reminded me of the same ones Dalton and his team climbed at the beginning of the movie.

My first thought while watching the opera scene was that the giant eye might be some reference to GoldenEye. However, it may have only been, “Hey, check out Bond taking all these pictures and uploading them with his little camera, and all these steps people are seated on. Remember when he did that only a Tiger Helicopter was involved?”

I thought it was just my brain playing games and seeing things that weren’t there, but then of course there was the Goldfinger body. Now I want to watch it again looking for everything I can.